A tragedy's final chapter: Driver sentenced in Saylorsburg fatal crash

Saturday

Mar 23, 2013 at 12:01 AMMar 23, 2013 at 6:33 PM

For Paul and Eileen Miller of Scranton, the nightmare began on July 5, 2010.

ANDREW SCOTT

For Paul and Eileen Miller of Scranton, the nightmare began on July 5, 2010.

State troopers came to their home and told them their 21-year-old only son, Paul Miller Jr., had been killed by a tractor-trailer on Route 33 near Saylorsburg.

At the sentencing Friday of the man responsible for Miller's death, a tearful Eileen Miller told the court how she collapsed to her knees, crying out, "No! Not my son! Not Paul!"

The Millers described having to identify the almost-unrecognizable, broken, bloody body of the boy they had raised into a man just starting his life.

Eileen Miller said her son visits her in a recurring dream, walking with a cane and asking for a hug.

"He says, 'Be careful how you hug me, Mom, because my chest was crushed,'" she said. "He says, 'I want my job back.' I say, 'But, Paul, you can't work, your legs are broken.' And he says, 'You don't understand. I want my job of being your son. It was the best job I ever had.'"

As she spoke, sobbing among the nearly 70 supporters, some of whom had come by bus, filled the courtroom.

Jaswinder Singh, 31, of Parlin, N.J., who had pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in Paul Miller Jr.'s death, sat listening with head bowed and hands folded in his lap next to his attorney.

This was moments before Singh was sentenced to 12 to 36 months in state prison.

He was distracted while driving southbound at 68 mph in a 45 mph construction zone.

This is according to witnesses who saw him swerving all over the road just prior to veering across the grassy median into the northbound lanes, hitting Miller's Toyota Corolla and injuring 12 other motorists, state police said.

The Millers said their son had spent the night with friends in Bethlehem because he had been drinking and didn't want to drive back home to Scranton that night. So, he waited until the next day to drive home.

"Our son was responsible and did the right thing, but Mr. Singh didn't," Eileen Miller said.

When given the chance to address the court prior to Singh's sentence being imposed, the Millers said losing their son has devastated their family and an entire community to whom he was a "shining light."

He stayed out of trouble, worked two full-time jobs while attending college and was a protector and peacemaker willing to help complete strangers in trouble, they said.

"We weren't even aware how many lives Paul had touched until after his death," Eileen Miller said, standing with her husband and their daughter, Nicole, 22. "To this day, people still come up to us, hug us and tell us how sorry they are that he's gone."

Paul Miller talked about how the stress of losing his son has taken a toll on his physical health.

Since his son's death, he's been diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or Lou Gehrig's disease, an incurable, progressive condition affecting nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord.

"Not only did you take my son's life, Mr. Singh, but mine as well, some day," he said. "You've changed forever the lives of everyone who loved Paul."

Eileen Miller said that, while Singh will still get to see his family from prison, her own family will never be whole again.

As for Singh's family, they will suffer not having him able to be with and support his wife and sons, ages 6 and 3, the younger of whom has special needs.

He, too, was described as hard-working and law-abiding by his wife, who spoke in a tearful, barely audible voice when addressing the court. She said he no longer will be able to send money to his ailing parents in India.

"I just want to tell (the Miller family) how sorry we are," she said, standing with her own two sons. "I'm a mother, too. My husband never meant for this to happen."

Singh himself echoed the sentiment.

"For (nearly three years), I've been trying to find the right words to say to you, but there's nothing I can say that can ever lessen your pain," he said, his own voice wavering as he faced the Millers and their supporters.

The Millers said Singh had never reached out to them to apologize or express any remorse prior to Friday's sentencing.

Believing the crash was caused by him talking on his cellphone, they also were upset that Singh didn't call 911 immediately after the crash, according to what they heard other motorists witnessed.

Monroe County Court Judge Stephen Higgins raised this when addressing Singh during the imposition of sentence.

Trying to tell Higgins he wasn't on his cellphone when he crashed and that he did ask someone else to call 911 after climbing out his truck, Singh said, "But, Your Honor, please, wait just a second."

Higgins cut him off, saying, "That's all it took, 'just a second' for a young life to be cut short as a result of your criminal negligence.

"I don't know what you were doing, but I do believe you were distracted and that Mr. Miller would still be alive today had you not been," Higgins said.

"As a trained driver with a commercial license, you were held to a higher level of responsibility and should have known better, but you neglected that responsibility, and this is the result. It's also disturbing that your record shows several vehicle code violations apart from this case, one of which was for unsafe driving a year after this tragedy."

Higgins imposed a state prison sentence fitting state guidelines for this offense, disagreeing with the defense's argument of a probationary sentence being more appropriate.

Some of Singh's supporters looked at each other, shook their heads and wept as he was handcuffed and led from the courtroom.

Now an activist against distracted driving, Eileen Miller afterward said she wants the public to see this as an example of what can happen when drivers don't pay full attention to the road.

"Though we're happy with the sentence, we'd much rather have our son back, but it's a tragic loss we'll have to live with," Miller said.

"So, to everyone out there, please keep your hands on the wheel and your mind fully on the task at hand when driving. No talking, texting, playing with the dog or fixing your makeup. Don't cause another tragedy."